Guest Post

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How Smaller Organisms Adapt to Amazon in the Self-Publishing Ecosystem

An independent author wonders why two publishing services companies sell their clients’ books at different prices than Amazon.
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Explore the Fictional Character That You Present to Readers

Readers of your work create their own idea of you that is, in a sense, a fictional character. Explore voice by leaning into that fiction.
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Mining Your Memories: 3 Forms of Memory Every Memoirist Must Know

Understanding how your memories work, and what to do with the less reliable ones, will help you with the meaning-making process.
Image: an illustration by K. Woodman-Maynard of herself seated at her desk, painting spreads of her graphic novel, with her cat curled asleep beside her.

How to Land an Agent for a Graphic Novel

While artists don’t necessarily need an agent to get into comics, these tips will help graphic novelists seeking traditional publication.
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Book Family Tree: A New Way to Think About Your Book

When choosing comp titles, try envisioning your book as an entry on a family tree to help identify both close and distant relations.
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How to Deal With Rejection: Celebrate!

One author believes that celebrating your rejections is part of how you take your power back.
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An Unconventional Facebook Ads Strategy for Authors

An expert discovered that the accepted best practices for Facebook ads were driving down results, so he forged a new methodology.
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First Page Critique: How to Better Establish the Tone in Your Opening

When a book is being pitched as a murder-mystery with comedic undertones, it’s important to seed those elements in the opening pages.
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Pay Yourself to Write

Today is the day you start building financial habits to acknowledge the inherent monetary worth of your writing.
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Building Your Brand on TikTok Isn’t Curation, It’s Authenticity

As authors, how do we make social media work for us? Here’s how one history nerd used the power of TikTok to create a community of readers.
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Decide Where You’re Standing in Time as You Write Your Memoir

Memoirists must make conscious decisions about time—the time frame of the story and where in time you are standing while telling your tale.
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What Character Arc Isn’t

Character arc isn’t created from a patchwork of different issues. It’s one clear thread that runs the whole length of your novel.
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The Peril and Promise of Writing in First-Person POV

Writing a compelling first-person novel requires creative ingenuity, extraordinary empathy, and a boatload of courage.
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Why Preparing a TED Talk Makes You a Better Memoirist (Even If You Never Intend to Get on Stage)

If you’re struggling to shape life experiences into a story, consider key points that illustrate a common thread, as if preparing a TED Talk.
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Pitch Yourself Before You Pitch Your Book

If your query letter isn’t standing out from the pack, consider leading with what makes you, not your story, compelling.
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It Might Be Time for a Reality Check on Your Writing Goals

Goal-setting is much like the Alcoholic’s Prayer: accept what’s beyond our control, assess what we’re able to change, and know the difference.
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The Forgotten Element of Story: The Author

Embracing the You in your story can feel frightening, but it’s the best way to craft a novel that is truly unforgettable.
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Gray Space: Making Room for the Reader

When we let the reader fill in our intentionally left blanks, or “gray space”, we invite them inside our imaginary worlds.
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How My Newsletter Helped Me Land an Agent and a Big Five Book Deal

While a newsletter might not sell your book, writing one can change your work for the better and help build valuable relationships.
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How to Figure Out Which Writing Advice Fits You Best

Like clothing, writing advice should be tried on to see if it fits you and your writing life. Here are five tips for assessing what works.
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Villain Logic: The Key to Solving Your Thriller’s Climax Block

When writing thriller, authors must understand our villain’s motivations, end goals, and progressive, logical actions toward that goal.
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Book Files and Formats: How to Protect Your Writing Investment

Owning and protecting your publishing source files is one of the most important things a writer can do to protect their writing asset.
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8 Tips for Authors to Boost Their Homepage

The average visitor spends on average 54 seconds on a webpage. Here are some tips to help turn visitors into readers, buyers, or subscribers.
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Is Deep Third an Actual POV?

Used well, deep third can be one of the most intimate, engaging, revealing ways for readers to viscerally share your character’s world.
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How to Write a Nonfiction Book Chapter Without Tears

If you sit down to write and find that you can’t, the typical reason is that you don’t know what job the chapter is supposed to do.